The Demotic Dictionary Project

Janet H. The past year has been an exciting and productive one Johnson for the Demotic Dictionary Project. Demotic is the

Egyptian script used from the middle of the seventh century B.C. to the fifth century of our era for economic and legal documents, private letters, literary and sci­entific texts, and even some religious and administrative texts. Although ultimately derived from hieroglyphs,

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demotic is extremely cursive, which presents great dif­ficulties in reading the texts. As a result of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, we have increased our staff by having Mark Smith become a full-time staff member and adding three students who work part time: Michael Fitzpatrick, Richard Jasnow, and Robert Ritner.

This past summer we began the actual gathering of vocabulary and preparation of dictionary cards. Our current goal is a volume which will include all vocabu­lary which occurs in demotic texts published in the last twenty-five years and not attested in an interim glossary published in 1954. We decided to start gathering the vocabulary by working on the longer literary, religious, and scientific texts which have been published during this time span because they contain the bulk of new vo­cabulary which does not appear in the glossary. For each text, the first step is the preparation of running translit­eration and translation, with commentary as needed, in which the text is broken down into minimally self-coherent units, usually sentences. From these annotated translations the students prepare the actual dictionary cards. For each word in each sentence in each text, a card is prepared giving the suggested transliteration and translation of the word and citing, in transliteration, the context for the word, the context usually consisting of the entire sentence in which the word appears. To the card is then added a facsimile of the word as written by the demotic scribe, usually a Xerox from the published photograph of the text. Any discussion of the word in secondary literature is also noted.

Following this procedure, we have so far collected the vocabulary from most of the long literary, religious, and scientific texts that were our initial target. These include a religious text containing a series of benedictions re­cited by a man for his deceased daughter; an astronomi­cal text describing and explaining the representations of the sky goddess Nut in the cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos and the tomb of Ramesses IV in the Valley of the Kings; a "wisdom text" in which a man who has been im­prisoned for failing to warn the king of an assassination attempt gives his son pragmatic advice on how to live his life; a hymn to the sun god Amon, hieroglyphic parallels

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for which are known from late-period temples built at Philae, Karnak, and Khargeh Oasis; and a text describ­ing the construction of an Egyptian temple and naming the various rooms which comprise it, e.g., the crypts, the sanctuary, the storehouses, and the dwelling place of the sacred animal . All of these texts carry forward centuries-old native Egyptian traditions; and many are late copies of earlier texts, e.g., the astronomical text which, dat ing from the Roman period, is fifteen hundred years younger than the New Kingdom origi­nals with which it deals.

A marked foreign influence appears, however, in others of the texts with which we worked this year. One such text is an astronomical treatise in two sections, one describing aspects of the moon, the other giving dates of eclipses, all taken as omens and associated with pre­dictions of good and evil fortune which will affect the nation. The section on eclipses begins with a list of Babylonian month names, indicating a Babylonian ori­gin, and the events portended are to affect not only Egyp­tians, but Hebrews, Amorites, Assyrians, and Cretans. The composition appears to be Persian in date (sixth century B.C.), although the manuscript which has been preserved is a Roman copy. Two literary texts, one of which describes an Egyptian expedition to India via a country inhabited only by women, the other of which relates the story of two heroes contending for the armor of a fallen king, reflect the influence of Greek epic liter­ature, while a medical text dealing with infections, fe­vers, and other ailments reflects some knowledge of con­temporary Greek medicine. From all of these texts we have gleaned a rich harvest of new words; week by week, the amount of material in our files grows larger and larger.

The highlight of our year was the Demotic Dinner held May 23 in the Oriental Institute Museum. In con­junction with the dinner the museum staff organized a small exhibit of objects from the thousand-year span when demotic was in use and a small display of the dic­tionary staff at work. Everyone attending received a copy of one of the proverbs from the "wisdom text" described above and a copy of a demotic marriage con­tract from the period immediately preceding Alexander

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the Great. We thank all those who attended and helped us make a good start on raising the money necessary for the matching portion of our grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

»'*— ?3>.lx=

^f* -5 «*JHfcr«1 &U. U ^ t ^ - s t * ^

.4 Demotic marriage contract from the Institute's collections, dated December, 365 B.C. It reads from right to left, beginning on page 83.

Demotic Dictionary Donors

Mr. Robert L. Alexander, Iowa City, Iowa

Mr. Harold Allen, Chicago Mrs. Geraldine S. Alvarez,

Clarendon Hills Mr. Donald Amidei, Park Ridge Mr. Laurance H. Armour, Jr.,

Chicago Ms. Alice A. Bacon, Long Island

City, N.Y. Mr. David A. Baird, Brunswick,

Nebr. Mr. & Mrs. Herbert R.

Barghusen, Chicago Helen R. Beiser, M.D., Chicago Ms. Mary Ella Bell, Washington,

D.C. Mr. Howard Berman, Chicago Ms. Marian Bernstein, San

Francisco, Calif. Mr. Henry Berry, Milwaukee,

Wis. Mr. & Mrs. Edward Blair, Lake

Bluff Mr. & Mrs. Philip D. Block, Jr.,

Chicago Mrs. George V. Bobrinskoy,

Chicago Mrs. Winthrop P. Boswell,

Hillsborough, Calif.

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur S. Bowes, Chicago

Mr. Malcolm K. Brachman, Dallas, Tex.

Mr. Harvey W. Branigar, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Miss Olive N. Brewster, San Antonio, Tex.

Mr. Robert E. Brooker, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Cameron Brown,

Lake Forest Mr. George L. Brown, Bixby,

Okla. Ms. Elisabeth M. Brown, Chicago Mrs. T. von Donop Buddington,

Chicago Mrs. Frankie C. Bullington,

Houston, Tex. Mr. & Mrs. Robert Burbank,

Chicago Mrs. R. V. Bush, Angola, N.Y. Mr. & Mrs. George G. Cameron,

Ann Arbor, Mich. Mr. William Card, Chicago Mr. John H. Carlson, Beloit, Wis. Mrs. John S. Carter, Oak Park Ms. Charlotte T. Child,

Washington, D.C. Mr. William C. Chrisant,

Barberton, Ohio

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Mrs. Mary Christopher, Crete Mr. Richard E. Clark, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Marvin R. Cohen,

Chicago Mr. Miles C. Collier, Naples, Fla. Mr. Eugene Colton, Downers

Grove

Ms. Virginia Condon, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.

Ms. Betty Weitze Cook, Bakersfield, Calif.

Lewis Coppel, M.D., Chillicothe, Ohio

Prof. Harry F. Corbin, Wichita, Ks.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert M. Grant, Chicago

Ms. Carol Green, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Green,

Rockford Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Greenberger,

Evanston

Mr. & Mrs. Edwin L. Gustus, Chicago

Mr. Robert P. Gwinn, Riverside Mr. & Mrs. Albert F. Haas,

Chicago Mr. John A. Halbeck, Lyons Mr. W. J. Halligan, Chicago

<— <«*••.. <-> .iz>-«—_,%I.L_>X.3-OII'-AIM-^ <^ inKueef j -s r . - -

Mrs. Mary Ellen Cowan, Chicago Ms. Elizabeth Shea Crain, Dallas,

Tex. Mr. Rosendo de Aguilera,

Astoria, N.Y. Ms. Betty Jane DeLong, Chicago Mrs. Ida B. DePencier, Chicago Mr. Walter Dopierala, Cicero Mr. Eric Doret, Chicago Mrs. Bernice E. Dorner,

Evanston Mr. & Mrs. Jim Douglas, Jr.,

Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Edmond D'Ouville,

Evergreen Park Mrs. L. M. Drake, Jr., Glencoe Mrs. Elena Druskis, Palos Park Mr. Dows Dunham, Boston,

Mass. Ms. Evelyn Dyba, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. George Eden, Peoria Mr. & Mrs. Peter Edge, Winnetka Ms. Marjorie Elswick, Chicago Mrs. Mary Fahrenwald, Chicago Dr. & Mrs. Adolph Faller,

Chicago Mary E. Farkas, M.D., Elmendorf

AFB, Alaska Mr. & Mrs. Walter V. Fennander,

Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Mr. John David Fishback, Wichita, Kans.

Michael S. Flom, Ph.D., Tarzana, Calif.

Mr. Ernest L. Folk, III, Charlottesville, Va.

Mrs. Marianne Ford, Chicago Mrs. Anne R. Frank, Bellaire.Tx. Mr. Gerald B. Frank, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Thomas F. Frey,

Chicago Mr. Charles E. Fulkerson,

Waukegan Mrs. Ernest F. Fullam,

Schenectady, N.Y. Dr. & Mrs. Salman Gailani,

Flossmoor Ms. Joan Garbutt, Philadelphia, Pa. Mrs. Eleanore E. Garner, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. IsakV.Gerson, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Sidney H. Giickman,

Chicago Miss Theresa Goell, New York,N.Y. Mrs. Ester A. Goldberg, Chicago Mrs. Rosalyn C. Goldman, Royal

Oak, Mich. Mrs. Howard Goodman, Chicago Mr. R. James Gormley, Evanston Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Grahn, La

Grange

Mr. Jerome R. Hamilton, Chula Vista, Calif.

Mr. Dennis D. Hammond, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mr.James D. Harris, Spring Hill, Ks, Mr. Sidney G. Haskins, Kennett

Square, Pa. Elsie L. Haug, M.D., Chicago Mrs. William H. Hazlett, Chicago Mr. Thomas C. Heagy, Chicago Ms. Eve Heffer, Chicago Henrietta Herbolsheimer, M.D.,

Chicago Mr. N. Hessler, Wheeling Mr. & Mrs. Edward H. Hickey,

Winnetka Mrs. Elizabeth Blake Hiebert,

Topeka, Kans. Mr. & Mrs. George D. Hirsh,

Chicago Mrs. W. Press Hodgkins, Lake

Forest Mr. & Mrs. David B. Hoffman,

Northbrook Mr. & Mrs. Harry A. Hoffner,

Oak Park Mr. & Mrs. Marshall M. Holleb,

Chicago Mr. Thomas K. Holmquest, Oak

Park

Mrs. Astrid Breasted Hormann, Honolulu, Hawaii

Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Howe, Winnetka

Mr. & Mrs. A. A. Imberman, Hinsdale

Ms. Mable A. Jackson, Chicago Mr. George T. Jacobi,

Milwaukee, Wis. Mr. David G. Jaeschke, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Jaffe,

Chicago Mrs. Elizabeth H. Johnson,

Wilmette Col. F. M. Johnson, Jr., Lorton,Va. Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Johnson,

Denver, Colo. Mr. Richard V. Jones, Chicago Ms. Vicki Anderson Jones,

Scottsdale, Ariz. Mr. & Mrs. Wylie Logan Jones,

Bakersfield, Calif. Mr. E. C. Junkunc, Chicago Mrs. Frances R. Kallison, San

Antonio, Tex. Mr. & Mrs. Alan D. Katz,

Evanston Mr. Robert Keller, Los Angeles Mr. & Mrs. Raja Khuri, Evanston Ms. Alberta R. Killie, Chicago

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Mrs. Mary Christopher, Crete Mr. Richard E. Clark, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Marvin R. Cohen,

Chicago Mr. Miles C. Collier, Naples, Fla. Mr. Eugene Colton, Downers

Grove

Ms. Virginia Condon, Mt. Kisco, N.Y.

Ms. Betty Weitze Cook, Bakersfield, Calif.

Lewis Coppel, M.D., Chillicothe, Ohio

Prof. Harry F. Corbin, Wichita, Ks.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert M. Grant, Chicago

Ms. Carol Green, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Green,

Rockford Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Greenberger,

Evanston

Mr. & Mrs. Edwin L. Gustus, Chicago

Mr. Robert P. Gwinn, Riverside Mr. & Mrs. Albert F. Haas,

Chicago Mr. John A. Halbeck, Lyons Mr. W. J. Halligan, Chicago

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Mrs. Mary Ellen Cowan, Chicago Ms. Elizabeth Shea Crain, Dallas,

Tex. Mr. Rosendo de Aguilera,

Astoria, N.Y. Ms. Betty Jane DeLong, Chicago Mrs. Ida B. DePencier, Chicago Mr. Walter Dopierala, Cicero Mr. Eric Doret, Chicago Mrs. Bernice E. Dorner,

Evanston Mr. & Mrs. Jim Douglas, Jr.,

Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Edmond D'Ouville,

Evergreen Park Mrs. L. M. Drake, Jr., Glencoe Mrs. Elena Druskis, Palos Park Mr. Dows Dunham, Boston,

Mass. Ms. Evelyn Dyba, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. George Eden, Peoria Mr. & Mrs. Peter Edge, Winnetka Ms. Marjorie Elswick, Chicago Mrs. Mary Fahrenwald, Chicago Dr. & Mrs. Adolph Faller,

Chicago Mary E. Farkas, M.D., Elmendorf

AFB, Alaska Mr. & Mrs. Walter V. Fennander,

Jubail, Saudi Arabia

Mr. John David Fishback, Wichita, Kans.

Michael S. Flom, Ph.D., Tarzana, Calif.

Mr. Ernest L. Folk, III, Charlottesville, Va.

Mrs. Marianne Ford, Chicago Mrs. Anne R. Frank, Bellaire.Tx. Mr. Gerald B. Frank, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Thomas F. Frey,

Chicago Mr. Charles E. Fulkerson,

Waukegan Mrs. Ernest F. Fullam,

Schenectady, N.Y. Dr. & Mrs. Salman Gailani,

Flossmoor Ms. Joan Garbutt, Philadelphia, Pa. Mrs. Eleanore E. Garner, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. IsakV.Gerson, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Sidney H. Giickman,

Chicago Miss Theresa Goell, New York,N.Y. Mrs. Ester A. Goldberg, Chicago Mrs. Rosalyn C. Goldman, Royal

Oak, Mich. Mrs. Howard Goodman, Chicago Mr. R. James Gormley, Evanston Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Grahn, La

Grange

Mr. Jerome R. Hamilton, Chula Vista, Calif.

Mr. Dennis D. Hammond, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mr.James D. Harris, Spring Hill, Ks, Mr. Sidney G. Haskins, Kennett

Square, Pa. Elsie L. Haug, M.D., Chicago Mrs. William H. Hazlett, Chicago Mr. Thomas C. Heagy, Chicago Ms. Eve Heffer, Chicago Henrietta Herbolsheimer, M.D.,

Chicago Mr. N. Hessler, Wheeling Mr. & Mrs. Edward H. Hickey,

Winnetka Mrs. Elizabeth Blake Hiebert,

Topeka, Kans. Mr. & Mrs. George D. Hirsh,

Chicago Mrs. W. Press Hodgkins, Lake

Forest Mr. & Mrs. David B. Hoffman,

Northbrook Mr. & Mrs. Harry A. Hoffner,

Oak Park Mr. & Mrs. Marshall M. Holleb,

Chicago Mr. Thomas K. Holmquest, Oak

Park

Mrs. Astrid Breasted Hormann, Honolulu, Hawaii

Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Howe, Winnetka

Mr. & Mrs. A. A. Imberman, Hinsdale

Ms. Mable A. Jackson, Chicago Mr. George T. Jacobi,

Milwaukee, Wis. Mr. David G. Jaeschke, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Jaffe,

Chicago Mrs. Elizabeth H. Johnson,

Wilmette Col. F. M. Johnson, Jr., Lorton,Va. Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Johnson,

Denver, Colo. Mr. Richard V. Jones, Chicago Ms. Vicki Anderson Jones,

Scottsdale, Ariz. Mr. & Mrs. Wylie Logan Jones,

Bakersfield, Calif. Mr. E. C. Junkunc, Chicago Mrs. Frances R. Kallison, San

Antonio, Tex. Mr. & Mrs. Alan D. Katz,

Evanston Mr. Robert Keller, Los Angeles Mr. & Mrs. Raja Khuri, Evanston Ms. Alberta R. Killie, Chicago

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Dr. W. P. Kleitsch, Phoenix, Ariz. Mr. Peter J. J. Kosiba, Chicago Ms. Arielle P. Kozloff, Cleveland,

Ohio Mr. Bernard Lawrence

Krawczyk, Chicago Mrs. M. H. Kreeger, Chicago Ms. Eleanor C. Krieter, Chicago Mr. Bernard A. Lalor, Chicago Ms. Mary N. Laughlin, Portland,

Ore. Mr. & Mrs. John Woodworth

Leslie, Evanston Mrs. Julius Y. Levinson, Chicago Mr. Hunter Lewis, Washington,

D.C. Dr. John F. Lhotka, Jr.,

Oklahoma City, Okla. Mrs.John Livingood, Hinsdale Mrs. Elizabeth B. Lloyd, South

Yarmouth, Mass. Ms. Vanna M. Lorie, Chicago Ms. Marilyn Jean Lovik, Chicago Mr. Donald A. MacKinlay,

Rosendale, N.Y. Mr. & Mrs. David W. Maher,

Chicago Mrs. Irving J. Markin, Chicago Mr. & Mrs. Ira Marks, Chicago Mrs. Georgianna M. Maynard,

Chicago Mrs. Robert W. Maynard,

Chicago Mrs. Donald McClain, Atlanta, Ga. Mr. William B. McDonald,

Chicago Mrs. T. D. McKee, Portola

Valley, Calif. Miss Judith Marie Meek, Worth Mr. 8c Mrs. John F. Merriam, San

Francisco, Calif. Dr. 8c Mrs. C. Phillip Miller,

Chicago Mr. 8c Mrs. Charles G. Miller,

Leesburg, Fla. Mr. Richard A. Miller, Oak Lawn Mr. Francis M. Millican, San

Diego, Calif. Mr. Robert D. Misch, Highland

Park Mr. Heshmat Moayyad, Chicago Mr. Anthony John Mourek,

Riverside

Mr. Stefan Murek, Arlington, Va. Mr. 8c Mrs. T. J. Murphy,

Chicago Ms. Julia Nason Boyd

Nadelhoffer, Downers Grove Col. John B. Naser, Chicago Mrs. Mary B. Naunton, Chicago Mrs. Mary C. Neal, Chicago Mr. 8c Mrs. Alfred K. Nelson,

Chicago Heights Mr. Ray C. Nelson, Corpus

Christi, Tex. Mr. 8c Mrs. Otto Nerad, River

Forest Mr. 8c Mrs. Albert H. Newman,

Chicago Ms. Alice O'Connor, Chicago Mr. Harry M. Oliver, Jr., Chicago Mr. Lewis P. Orans, Racine, Wis. Mrs. Franklin Orwin, Chicago Mr. G. W. Osborne, Chicago Mrs. Gilbert H. Osgood,

Winnetka Mr. 8c Mrs. George Pagels,

Chicago Mrs. Pauline E. Pantsios, Chicago Mr. Richard A. Parker,

Providence, R.I. Mr. Robert C. Parker, Wheaton Mr. 8c Mrs. Demetri Parry,

Chicago Paul J. Patchen, M.D., Chicago Mr. Arthur W. Perrins, Daytona

Beach, Fla. Ms. Ann Putcamp, San Diego,

Calif. Mr. Fazlur Rahman, Naperville Mr. Donnell Railings, Chicago Mr. 8c Mrs. George A. Ranney,

Libertyville Mr. Albert H. Raymond,

Northfield Mr. 8c Mrs. Harold Rechter,

Country Club Hills Mr. Henry Regnery, Three Oaks,

Mich. Ms. Louise Lee Reid, Clarendon

Hills Ms. Erica Reiner, Chicago Mr. Louis L. Retallack, Denver,

Colo. Ms. E. M. Riedinger, Los

Angeles, Calif.

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Mr. & Mrs. Robert K. Ritner, Houston, Tex.

Mr. Sanger P. Robinson, Chicago Mr. Arnold A. Rogow, New

York, N.Y. Mrs. Homer Rosenberg,

Highland Park Mrs. Samuel R. Rosenthal,

Highland Park Mrs. Barbara S. Rosi, Chicago Sylvester J. Ryan, M.D.,

Middlebury, Conn. Mrs. Alice Ryerson, Lake Forest Mr. Joseph Salvato, Chicago Dr. & Mrs. Gilbert Schaer, Lisle Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence J. Scheff,

Chicago Ms. Ethel M. Schenk, Chicago Mr. 8c Mrs. George G. Schloerb,

Chicago Mr. Kenneth Benjamin

Schlosser, Glendale, Calif. Mr. Arthur W. Schultz,

Barrington Mr. & Mrs. M. D. Schwartz, Los

Angeles, Calif. Mrs. Keith C. Seele, Batavia Mrs. Doris S. Shayne, Chicago Ms. Elizabeth Sherman, Chicago Mr. Jeffrey R. Short, Jr.,

Winnetka Mr. 8c Mrs. Louis Skidmore, Jr.,

Houston, Tex. Mr. & Mrs. Steven B. Smith,

Chicago Mr. John Spangler, Los Altos,

Calif. Mr. 8c Mrs. Peter Spiegel,

Chicago Mr. Herbert Spiegelberg, St.

Louis, Mo. Mrs. Marie S. Spiel, Lake Forest Mr. 8c Mrs. Jack C. Staehle,

Chicago Mr. 8c Mrs. Clement Studebaker,

Chicago Mr. Carroll H. Sudler, Lake

Forest Mrs. Gustavus F. Swift, Chicago Dr. 8c Mrs. Arnold L. Tanis,

Hollywood, Fla. Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas,

Princeton, N.J.

Miss Jane Thomas, Los Angeles, Calif.

Mrs. Theodore D. Tieken, Chicago

Mrs. Frederic M. Tileston, Chicago

Mr. Honorio R. Torres, Chicago Mr. Gilbert D. Totten, Chicago Mrs. Susan Trevelyan-Syke,

Chicago Mrs. Chester D. Tripp, Chicago Mr. Henry S. Tropp, Gary, Ind. Mrs. James P. Tuthill, Chicago University Club of Chicago, New

York, N.Y. Mr. 8c Mrs. George Valko,

Chicago Mr. Bojan Hilton Vospalek,

Richfield, Conn. Mr. Robert P. Wallace, Sugar

Land, Tex. Mr. 8c Mrs. Witt O. Wallace,

Wilmette Mrs. Ned L. Warren, Richmond,

Ky. Mrs. Gilbert A. Webb, San

Francisco, Calif. Mr. 8c Mrs. Roderick S. Webster,

Winnetka Dr. Laurence C. Welch, Rolling

Hills, Calif. Mr. Edward F. Wente, Chicago Mr. Martin L. White, Downers

Grove Mr. Bruce B. Williams, Chicago Mr. Charles M. Wills, Jr.,

Honolulu, Hawaii Mr. D. W. Wilson, Cleveland

Heights, Ohio Mrs. Theodor A. Winkel,

Ludington, Mich. Miss Ruby K. Worner, Peoria Prof. Louis V. Zabkar, Waltham,

Mass. Mr. & Mrs. Frank Zapolis,

Evergreen Park Mrs. Virginia Zehring, Locust

Grove, Okla. Mr. 8c Mrs. Peter Zelisko,

Hinsdale Mr. Weldon P. Zundel, Golden,

Colo. Mrs. Walter Zurne, Chicago

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